Bank fees cost fashion business owners millions, with many considered too high, overly complicated or just unfair. But the reality is that Australia’s “user pays” system of banking is here to stay, so what can you do to save your fashion business money?

A new player in the lingerie market is preparing to give high-end overseas brands a run for their money. Set to launch in September, Little Minx was designed to attract shoppers who aspired to labels such as Chantal Thomass and Agent Provocateur, but were likely to be swayed on price, confirmed the label's designer Ursula Dunne.

Retailer fined TASMANIA: National sporting goods retailer A-Mart All Sports has been fined more than $50,000 for underpaying staff at two of its stores in Tasmania.

SYDNEY: Listed group Beyond Sportswear International's (BSI) attempt to stabilise its financial dealings has received a profitable shot in the arm after the company was awarded two lucrative new contracts.

Waste reduction SYDNEY: A new exhibition by a Sydney student aims to show fabric waste elimination through design is possible.

Tariff imposed HONDURAS: The United States Commerce Department has announced it intends imposing a 5 percent tariff on cotton socks imported from Honduras for six months in an attempt to offer relief to US manufacturers impacted by surging imports from Honduras.

MELBOURNE: A program organised by the International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI) promises to give fashion designers new insights into world class skills and processes.

The former owner of multi-brand fashion retailer Brands Direct has been forced to apply for a personal insolvency agreement (PIA) after his business collapsed beneath a $8 million mountain of debt.

HEAR YE: Leading Australian fashion identities Pamela Easton, Lydia Pearson, Leona Edmiston and David Jones womenswear buyer David Bush have agreed to put personal agendas aside for a unique panel discussion taking place as part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Brisbane next month.

NATIONAL: Australian milliners are missing out on lucrative export opportunities because a lack of government funding, a leading practitioner has alleged.

NATIONAL: Further reductions to tariffs on textile, clothing and footwear imports could save Australian consumers up to $1.5 billion per annum, a modelling research report by the Productivity Commission has claimed.

NATIONAL: Greece-based expatriate designer Samantha Sotos is set to make a triumphant return home. The Middlesex University fashion graduate, who moved to Athens aged 18, has announced plans to launch her self-titled label into the Australian market in time for spring/summer 2009.

NATIONAL: It appears there will be no short-term resolution in a legal dispute between two apparel companies vying for the Reiss trade mark in New Zealand.

Australian streetwear retailer General Pants Co has secured exclusive distribution rights for a denim brand positioned at the middle market.

BRISBANE: One of Australia's leading suppliers of sublimated apparel has been forced to bring all garment manufacturing processes in-house, citing unreasonable demands from major sportswear retailers as the key reason.

NATIONAL: A spate of cases brought against local labels by UK brand Ted Baker has sparked claims Australia is increasingly seen as a haven for knock-offs.